Crossing the Veil
by DTS
Summary: It's Halloween and the Doctor, along with a current and former companions, is in a place he never thought he'd be again. Crossover with Torchwood


I originally posted this over on livejournal in response to a challenge. Well, let's just say, this was more inspired by a challenge. I hope you all like it. Spoilers for end of DW3, casting DW4 and casting TW2.

Jack kicked at an overturned desk and tried not to think on what led this office block, this piece of prime London real estate, to be abandoned. He tried not to think of all the lives lost in the pursuit of glory. There was one face he kept seeing, the one face that brought him here.

"This is where she died."

"Hmm?" Jack turned to his friend, a young black woman.

"This is where she died. My cousin Adeola. It feels weird, being here. Like there's some sort of-I dunno-aura about the place."

"Like you're trespassing somewhere sacred?" She nodded. "You get that a lot at battlefields. It's knowing that people died where you're standing."

She shivered. "So why here? I'd've thought you'd want to stay away from this place."

"It's a theory I want to test." Jack looked at his watch. "You did tell him this exact date and time?"

"'Course I did. Do you doubt me?"

Jack grinned. "You saved the world, Martha Jones. I'd never doubt you."

"Good. I'll remind you of that later."

At that moment the familiar sweet sound of ancient grinding machinery echoed throughout the empty room. An old-fashioned blue police box materialized with a final thump. The door opened and out stepped the Doctor, tall and lanky like Jack remembered, his hair maybe a bit poofier. He was wearing the brown pinstripe with a maroon shirt.

"Jack, Martha, why are we here? You know how I feel about this place."

"Yeah, but what is this place?" A redhead pushed her way past the Doctor and into the room. "Looks like it's seen better days."

_She's not the Doctor's usual slim and trim type. What's the current phrase? Full-figured, that's it. _

"You're in Canary Wharf," Martha told her. "Surely you remember?" she added at the woman's blank look.

"Don't even go there," said the Doctor. He faced Martha. "You're looking good, Dr. Jones. Working at Torchwood seems to suit you." He gave her a quick hug. "So why are we here?"

"I have a theory I wanted to try out. As you know, Halloween is-"

"Jack-o-lanterns, kids dressed as werewolves, vampires-kind of amusing, really, after seeing the real thing."

"That's what it is _now_. Originally it was thought to be the time when the veil between worlds was able to be crossed." He paused, waiting to see if the Doctor would see where he was going with this.

"It's a bit of a long shot, Jack, you do know that?"

"Course I do, but I'd rather try it than pass up the chance." He pulled a sheet of notations from his pocket. "The Celts talked about stars and planetary alignments. I think this is the time to try."

The Doctor pulled out his glasses and slipped them on before peering at Jack's scrawl. "You're right. I think we can do it."

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Donna was left to her own devices as the Doctor went to talk with the GQ cover and the black woman walked slowly about the room. She went to the window and found herself looking out at the Thames. Her mind flashed back to a couple of Christmases ago when it had been completely drained. She could see the flood barrier where she and the Doctor had laughed in giddy release. It brought a crooked smile to her lips.

Ever since refusing to travel with him that time, she had begun to look at the "broader picture". She had also read up on those examples he had mentioned of recent alien incursions. Now she knew what happened here. She understood.

She turned back and saw the Doctor and GQ were rattling on about something. She couldn't see the woman—Martha, he called her. She walked deeper into the room and saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind a desk. Donna crouched down beside her. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. It's not that I didn't know what you were talking about, it's just that I didn't know what to say."

Martha opened her hand to show a dangling gold earring. "This was hers."

Donna then listened as Martha talked about her cousin who had died that day. "We could've been twins, you know? We used to milk it at the clubs." She sniffed. "We were gonna go out a couple nights later but--" She took a deep breath to get herself under control and wiped her eyes. "Here I am going on and I don't even know your name."

"Donna." She sat down on the floor. "He's not one for introductions."

"No, never when there's something interesting to attract his attention."

"You traveled with him too?"

"Yeah. I left him after that whole thing with Harold Saxon."

"He does have a knack of pissing off people in charge, doesn't he?"

"People in general, I think."

After a slight pause, they both burst out laughing.

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The Doctor heard the sound of women's laughter. The last time a current and former companion got together and laughed, he had been the cause.

"I bet no one's laughed in this room since…" Jack let it drift. "It's kinda nice. I wonder what they're laughing at."

"Let's just check those calculations." He did not want to talk about it in front of Jack.

"Oh, ho, it's you! They're laughing because of you! I'd love to listen in on that."

"I've been caught in the middle before."

"Martha and someone from an earlier regeneration?"

"No, it was Rose." He remembered Rose and Sarah Jane laughing so hard they were doubled over. Oh, how he missed the sound of her laughter. It was so contagious.

"So who's the redhead?" Jack was looking over to where Donna and Martha were now sitting, heads together.

"Jack," he warned.

"What? I'm not saying 'hello'. You might want to think of making introductions yourself instead of leaving it up to me."

The Doctor sighed. "Donna Noble. She was getting married on Christmas Eve when she was transported to the TARDIS."

"The bride who disappeared in a glowing light! I saw the video. The only explanation I could come up with was Huon energy." The Doctor opened his mouth to respond but Jack wasn't done. "So she was there when you defeated the Racnoss. You knew her before Martha."

"Jack, we don't have time for this. We need to run the numbers again before keying them into the TARDIS." He kept his eyes on the paper in front of him and tried to block out Jack's annoying grin.

Looking at the equations in front of him, it was possible to pull this off. He had the technology to augment the field. The only question was duration. Would this be permanent?

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Martha had to wipe her eyes from laughing so hard. Donna seemed to be the idea match for the Doctor. She was more likely to slap him than become smitten. If her stories were anything to go by, she could run her mouth off just as much. She sighed. Talking about things like this almost made her want to go with him again but she knew she wasn't ready. Not just yet.

She stood and wiped off her slacks. "Let's go and see if we can help the Doctor and Jack with…whatever it is they're doing."

"Don't tell me you understand him when he starts spouting off," Donna said, rising. "I usually have to slap him to get him to stop and explain in English,"

_Ha! I was right!_ "Most of what he goes on about, no one from here and now would understand anyway."

"Mr. GQ doesn't seem to have a problem. This was his idea, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Jack is from the 51st century."

"Oh."

Martha smiled and approached the two men. "Anything we can do to help?"

Jack looked up and gave Donna a welcoming smile but didn't say his usual 'hello'.Had the Doctor warned him off it already?

The Doctor blinked at them as if he had forgotten they were there. "Um…well, ah…"

"If you and Jack have it under control, just say so. I won't feel hurt."

The Doctor had the good grace to look ashamed. "We just have to, ah, calibrate the TARDIS to the Torchwood equipment. It's rather delicate."

"Well, let us know when you do need us." Donna took Martha by the arm. "C'mon, it's not often I get to explore a secret organization."

When they were out of hearing, Martha stopped. "You're with the Doctor. You see secret organizations all the time."

"Yeah, but I think they don't want us to know what they're doing. Sometimes he doesn't tell me stuff until it's too late 'cause he knows I'd try to stop him."

"But what do they have in common? They…" She remembered that first conversation on Malcassario. Jack mentioned Canary Wharf and the list of the dead. Then there was the mention of parallel worlds. _The veil between worlds_. "No, it can't be!"

As she rushed back to the room, she heard Donna behind her. They were too late to stop the experiment. The room was engulfed in a bright white light. When it faded, there was a third person with Jack and the Doctor. A blonde. "Rose."

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Rose Tyler walked through the halls of Torchwood One on what she called Earth Two. It had been alsmost two years since she had to start her new life here but at least she wasn't alone. She had Mum, Mickey, Pete and Jake, the four people who knew the truth. When she needed them, they would listen to her reminscings of her time with the Doctor and their travels. The times she found herself doing that were growing fewer and farther between but she hadn't forgotten him completely. She never could.

It was at times when things were slow she found herself up in what she called the breach room. She knew she should move on, forget what happened here, but she couldn't help it. She still felt that her world, her Doctor, was just on the other side of that wall. Her mobile rang and she switched it off. It was probably just Mickey reminding her of the Halloween party tonight.

The wall in front of her seemed to flicker and ripple and she couldn't help but reach out and touch it with her fingers. She didn't expect her hand to go through it. She knew she should call for backup. She knew she should let someone know where she was and what she was doing. She knew and she didn't care. She stepped through the wall. When her eyes adjusted to the bright light,she saw something she thought she'd never see again. "Doctor?" She took a hesitant step. He smiled.

"Doctor!" She ran and jumped into his outstretched arms.

"Can I get some of that?"

"Jack!" She released the Doctor and rushed Jack, crushing him in a huge bear hug. He laughed and she nearly melted again.

She stepped back and looked at the two men she loved unconditionally knowing they felt that same. They would give their lives for each other--and had. It was then she noticed the two women in the doorway. _Are they all travelling together? That could be a little maddening_. She walked up to them and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Rose Tyler."

The black woman smiled a little slowly. "Martha Jones. It's a bit of a shock meeting you."

"It's a bit of a shock being here." She turned to the redhead. "And you are?"

"Donna Noble. No wonder he was a mess when I met him."

"What?"

"He's just lost you, and, well, it's like he had a deathwish or something. If I hadn't yelled at him, he would've let it happen."

Rose turned to look at the Doctor who was just watching her, a goofy smile on his face.

"He mentioned your name all the time when I started travelling with him," Martha said. "It wasn't easy following you."

"He said we'd never be able to see each other again after that last goodbye. What happened?"

"My idea," said Jack. "I worked out that it might be possible to open the breach if only temporarily. Martha contacted the Doctor and here we are."

"How long is 'temporarily'?"

The Doctor looked at a dial on one of the cobbled-together bits of machinery. "About another 15 minutes." He looked at her with those brown eyes, asking her without saying a word.

Oh, how she wanted to be with him again, to travel the universe and wander through time. "I can't," she answered, her heart breaking again. "I can't leave Mum again, expecially when I won't be able to get back. I've a new life, Doctor. I like my job and my friends." She wiped her eyes. _This is almost as hard as last time_. "At least I know you have people to look after you." Rose reached up and gave him a tender kiss on the lips. "I love you," she whispered.

He grabbed her in a tight hug like he didn't want her to walk away. "I love you too, Rose Tyler," he said just for her.

He released her and Jack then grabbed her, swinging her about. "I'll miss you." He set her down.

"Hey, you don't have one of me in your world, do you?"

She laughed. "If so, I haven't met him yet."

"He's probably just working his way across the planet."

"First Cybermen and now a possible Jack Harkness? That world doesn't stand a chance."

Rose walked backwards to the wall so she could watch them for as long as possible. Before long she was back in her own world staring at a white wall.

"Rose!"

"In here Mickey!"

"I was just here," he said as he entered the room. "It was empty."

"You must have missed me behind a piece of furniture."

"Yeah, like what? Look around."

Rose saw there was nothing that would have hidden her from sight.

"So where were you?"

"Home." She looked him in the face. "I mean _home_. I was back at our Canary Wharf with the Doctor and Jack."

"Impossible."

"C'mon, Mickey. It's Halloween. Anything's possible. Don't we have a party to go to?"


End file.
